General Discussion, page-311

"The global market for stationary battery storage units will reach 3.44 trillion yen by 2035, Tokyo-based research firm Fuji Keizai projects, or 140% the scale in 2021.

Yano Research Institute, also based in Tokyo, estimates that redox flow units will occupy 22% of the global next-generation battery market in 2030, trailing only solid-state lithium-ion batteries at 45% and organic rechargeable batteries at 24%, which do not use rare metals.

Chinese companies possess an edge in the redox flow battery race since they have ready access to supplies of vanadium, a rare metal. China was responsible for 66% of vanadium output last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A domestic rival of Rongke, Liaoning Grepalofu New Energy, broke ground in July on a redox flow battery plant that received an investment of 1 billion yuan. VRB Energy, based in Beijing, has delivered 70 MWh so far.

Chinese players hold top spots in producing solar panels and electric vehicle batteries thanks to their scales of production and cost competitiveness.

There are 50 to 70 manufacturers of redox flow batteries worldwide, but "a large number of Chinese enterprises will join, and the competition will likely heat up," said Masato Yoshida of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.

Rising costs add to the challenge. For a unit that takes eight hours to recharge, the cost per kilowatt-hour approaches that of a lithium-ion battery. But the sheer size of a redox flow battery unit makes the bill that much higher. A potential supply crunch for vanadium also may push costs higher."